Frozen berries. Banana. Quick, simple and vitality-packed, smoothies are the perfect post-gym pick-me-up.

They can bang on about how “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” until they’re blue in the face – it’s still a chaotic mad dash panic of spoons and shoes and keys and bags in my house.

At least I’ve nailed the healthy breakfast thing now though (well, most days). Annoyed with myself for resorting to toast (boring) or the kids’ cereal (hello sugar rush) for the umpteenth time, I decided to get a grip.

I was also finding that a poor breakfast was a bad start not just nutritionally but also psychologically. Sugar spikes cause sugar slumps and that’s when I was reaching for the mid-morning biscuits to power me through.

I knew that no matter how many good intentions I had, I wasn’t going to rustle up duck confit hash or eggs royale with smoked trout and yuzu hollandaise on a school day.

So this is my answer. Frozen berries, straight from the freezer and a few storecupboard staples. Whizzed up in seconds. Downed in minutes. Feelgood factor all day.

(PS. It’s so quick and simple, it’s also become my post-gym energy booster. Now that really does feel virtuous.)

Frozen berry smoothie

179 calories

Serves 1 • Ready in 2 minutes

100ml (scant ½ cup) semi-skimmed milk (49 cals)
½ banana (53 cals)
100g (3½oz) mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries, grapes, etc), frozen (48 cals)
50g (1¾oz) quark (29 cals)

• Simply combine all the ingredients in a blender and pour into a glass.